Italian? Laguna food fan wants your stories, recipes

Jeff D'Arcy, pictured cooking in his kitchen in Laguna Beach, was a finalist in a contest run by Maggiano's Italian restaurants. His recipe for duck and sausage lasagna came from his Sicilian uncle. COURTESY OF JEFF D'ARCY

As Jeff D'Arcy simmers fresh-made marinara sauce on his stove in Laguna Beach, he's transported back to his days with his large Sicilian family.

Uncle Eddy, a charming and gregarious bachelor, took his lasagna very seriously.

D'Arcy entered a recipe he learned from Eddy – duck and sausage lasagna – in a contest run by Maggiano's Italian restaurants. He was a finalist, though his dish didn't win a spot on the restaurant menu.

The experience, however, made D'Arcy realize that many who complimented his recipe were enticed not by the ingredients but also his family story.

As he was growing up in Long Beach, cooking was left to the men of the family, he said. As many as eight of his uncles would gather in the kitchen, elbowing for space to make their dishes. After Uncle Eddy would serve his meal, the family would applaud, D'Arcy said.

D'Arcy and his cousins would serve as "sous chefs," dicing, chopping and trying to learn the craft.

"Sicilians are the earthy people," D'Arcy said. "It's the game that grows in Sicily wild – the lamb, the goats, the geese."

Many people commented on D'Arcy's Maggiano's web page that they had similar upbringing. D'Arcy got the idea to gather the stories and recipes of other Italians and create a website and perhaps a cookbook.

People have started sending him their family histories along with favorite recipes, he said.

"Another cookbook is just another cookbook," he said. "People enjoy a story."

D'Arcy has traveled to Sicily but doesn't speak Italian or Sicilian. The food is what truly connects him to his roots.

"I think food is the link that maintains your ethnic ... heritage," he said. "The language might get assimilated and the other cultural norms, but the food ... ."

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